best cards to cancel

femalemonarchfemalecanine · 18 October 2019 at 12:02PM

Hello

I realise this is a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' type question, but I would appreciate your opinions
rough figures are below, date is when I opened the card:

card 1, Jan 2003 limit £4,500 everyday spending pay in full - nationwide
card 2, Aug 2003 limit £9,500 balance £3,900- Barclaycard ex egg
card 3, June 2004 limit £10,500 balance £5,100 - Barclaycard ex egg
card 4, July 2011 limit £15,000 balance £4,200 mbna
card 5, May 2014 limit £9,500 no balance rbos
card 6, Aug 2015 limit £13,000 no balance - virgin
card 7, April 2018 limit £10,000 everyday spending pay in full amex
card 8, April 2019 limit £6,500 balance £5,500 sainsbury

salary £34,000

All the balances are 0% and I'm paying more than the minimum so they will be paid before the 0%expire, except on card 8 where there is only the option with DD to pay min or all, so that is minimum - I shall close this when the 0% ends and transfer/pay off

My dilemma is over cards 5 and 6 - should I close one or both, if one, which one is best? Neither seem to offer much in the way of BTs, so if I did transfer card 8 I'd be better getting a new card I think [if able, of course].

Just thinking about available credit vs salary, amount of available credit used and all that.
I also have a loan with about £8,000 outstanding, being paid monthly.

As I say, I know it's an inexact science, but I would appreciate thoughts on closing 5 and/or 6

card 1 and 7 I definitely want to keep as they both give cash back, and I've had card 1 for ages

many thanks in advance!

sourcrates · 18 October 2019 at 12:40PM

Hi,

I have to beg the question, why does anyone need 8 credit cards ?

Thats a whopping £78.500 credit limit !!!

femalemonarchfemalecanine · 18 October 2019 at 12:52PM

I say I probably don't need 8 cards! Many have been taken out for offers, and I've rather lazily not bothered cancelling them, however, given that I have what I have, I was finally thinking to cancel the unused ones, so better late than never?

I do know why I have these balances etc, and they are not causing me problems, just wondering what all the experienced people think re cancelling the two 'spares'.

I used to have well over £100,000 credit available - and I earned less. Hasten to add, I never used anywhere near that, just prior to my last round of cancelling the cards I never used ;-)
no intention of getting near the current amount either!

Penelopa.Pitstop · 18 October 2019 at 12:59PM

Do cards 1 and 7 offers some rewards/points/cashback? Do cars 5 and 6 offer it? Depending on it, I would keep cards with highests limits and got rid of the ones with lower limits, unless they offer something extra. Or just keep all of them and wait for the companies to close them by themselves.

bargainbetty · 18 October 2019 at 1:00PM

Sourcrates is right - that's a lot of cards and a lot of available debt.

I was in a similar situation, albeit lower numbers, and tidying it up did make life a bit easier.

card 1, Jan 2003 limit £4,500 everyday spending pay in full
card 7, April 2018 limit £10,000 everyday spending pay in full You don't need £14.5k of everyday spending. Pick the one with the best cashback rate/ease of use and close the other.

Card 2, Aug 2003 limit £9,500 balance £3,900 Perhaps reduce your overpayments elsewhere and throw every spare penny at this to finish and close it?
card 3, June 2004 limit £10,500 balance £5,100
card 4, July 2011 limit £15,000 balance £4,200

card 5, May 2014 limit £9,500 no balance
card 6, Aug 2015 limit £13,000 no balance Close one or both of these - personally I'd go with both as you have a fair amount of wiggle room elsewhere if you needed it, but close card 6 at minimum, as it will bring your available credit limit down substantially and level it off with your income

card 8, April 2019 limit £6,500 balance £5,500 Why not put overpayments in a savings account so you can do a lump sum later, or throw then at one of the others?

Best of luck

femalemonarchfemalecanine · 18 October 2019 at 1:16PM

cards 1 and 7 are both cashback, I intend keeping both, 7 is amex, better cashback and though generally accepted, not always, and I've had card 1 for ages

card 8, I would have the funds to pay the remaining balance off when the offer ends, but if I can get a decent BT offer, might as well. I know with interest rates the way they are it's not easy to make a few quid on 0% [especially as most have fees] but if possible, it seems rude not to, otherwise I'll pay it.

card 3 is getting most paid at the moment, then card 4 will, then card 2 - this will enable me to pay them all prior to the 0% ending.

tending to be minded to shut both unused cards. Having lots of cards doesn't bother me, I've got DDs set up and a spreadsheet, so I'm on top of them, but it seems pointless having ones I've no use for.

I very much see the limits as pie in the sky, and definitely not something to aim for!

[Deleted User] · 18 October 2019 at 3:48PM

sourcrates wrote: »

Hi,

I have to beg the question, why does anyone need 8 credit cards ?

Thats a whopping £78.500 credit limit !!!

I have 6 or 7 but they offer various rewards, cashback, points etc.

[Deleted User] · 18 October 2019 at 3:49PM

Who are the lenders, card type, APR etc?

stehouk · 18 October 2019 at 3:59PM

Personally i close cards that are of no use once the 0% offer has expired, i can then re-apply in the future for another 0% offer.

femalemonarchfemalecanine · 18 October 2019 at 4:10PM

!!! wrote: »

Who are the lenders, card type, APR etc?

various lenders, nationwide amex barclaycard Sainsbury rbos virgin mbna. all visa bar the amex I think, all mainstream, no sub-prime
APRs vary, but I don't pay interest so it's fairly irrelevant

Ben8282 · 18 October 2019 at 4:53PM

Your reason for suddenly deciding to cancel cards appears to be

Just thinking about available credit vs salary, amount of available credit used and all that.

Clearly you have had no difficulties in obtaining credit so far and were given a respectable enough limit on the application made this year, so I can't really understand your sudden concern. My own available credit exceeds annual income but until something happens like an unexpected decline or a pathetic credit limit, I am not concerned.

femalemonarchfemalecanine wrote: »

various lenders, nationwide amex barclaycard Sainsbury rbos virgin mbna. all visa bar the amex I think, all mainstream, no sub-prime
APRs vary, but I don't pay interest so it's fairly irrelevant

Really? Are they UK issued?

Beyond telling us that cards 5 and 6 are unused there is no information contained in the OP that could really assist in suggesting which cards should be cancelled.
Considering the number of cards with balances, I would actually keep these cards 5 and 6 for the moment. They may come in useful one day.

best cards to cancel

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